The incidence of debris disks at 24 μm and 670 Myr

Abstract

We use Spitzer Space Telescope 24 μm data to search for debris disks among 122 AFGKM stars from the ∼670 Myr clusters Hyades, Coma Ber, and Praesepe, utilizing a number of advances in data reduction and determining the intrinsic colors of main-sequence stars. For our sample, the 1σ dispersion about the main-sequence V-KS , KS -[24] locus is approximately 3.1%. We identify seven debris disks at 10% or more (≥3σ confidence level) above the expected KS -[24] for purely photospheric emission. The incidence of excesses of 10% or greater in our sample at this age is 5.7+3.1- 1.7%. Combining with results from the literature, the rate is 7.8+4.2- 2.1% for early-type (B9-F4) stars and 2.7+3.3- 1.7% for solar-like (F5-K9) stars. Our primary sample has strict criteria for inclusion to allow comparison with other work; when we relax these criteria, three additional debris disks are detected. They are all around stars of solar-like type and hence reinforce our conclusion that disks around such stars are still relatively common at 670 Myr and are similar to the rate around early-type stars. The apparently small difference in decay rates between early-type and solar-like stars is inconsistent with the first-order theoretical predictions that the later type stellar disks would decay an order of magnitude more quickly than the earlier type ones. © 2012. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.